Optimal Ideation-Evaluation Ratios

Leadership and creativity: Understanding leadership from a creative problem-solving perspective

“…Idea generation includes processes associated with the identification of the problem to be solved, the information needed, and the potential solutions. These processes tend to be viewed as more divergent in nature, requiring problem solvers to generate alternatives (Basadur, 1995;West, 2002). It is clear from that discussion that the availability and access to divergent information is helpful to problem construction, information search, and solution generation (Clapham, 2001;Shalley, 1995).…”

“…Once information is available, according to many models of creative problem solving, the individual then moves toward generation of alternative solutions (Basadur, 1995;Lubart, 2001;Runco & Chand, 1995). This process of idea generation was the focus of much of the early research on creativity, starting with Guilford's seminal work on divergent thinking (Guilford, 1950(Guilford, , 1967.…”

Creative Abilities

“…Recall also Basadur's (1995; see also Basadur, Graen, & Green, 1982) ideation-evaluation model of creative problem solving, mentioned above. In it, ideation is an option generation process where judgmental, rational, and convergent thoughts are deliberately delayed so that imaginative, divergent, and original thoughts can appear.…”

“…This view was used to question the idea of blind variation. Basadur's (1995) view that the balance of ideation and evaluation is not uniform over different tasks is of great practical significance. He argued that I/E (ideation divided by evaluation) ratios can always be found but that they vary.…”

Creativity: Intuitive processing outperforms deliberative processing in creative idea selection

“…However, before creative ideas can be actually implemented, the most creative ideas must be selected from a larger pool of ideas. Although idea generation and idea selection are tightly linked in creativity theories (e.g., Basadur, 1995;Finke, Ward, & Smith, 1992;Guilford, 1967;Lubart, 2001;Maier, 1967;Newell & Shaw, 1962;Reiter-Palmon & Illies, 2004;Runco & Basadur, 1993;Runco & Vega, 1990;Sawyer, 2006;Simonton, 2003;Sternberg, 2006), research on idea evaluation and idea selection lags far behind research on idea generation (Amabile & Mueller, 2008;Herman & Reiter-Palmon, 2011;Hunter, Friedrich, Bedell, & Mumford, 2006;Kozbelt, 2007;Rietzschel, Nijstad, & Stroebe, 2010;Runco & Smith, 1992). This is unfortunate, as history is replete with cases in which creative ideas were first unwisely rejected.…”